The Lady Eagles may have lost 7-8 to the Wilcox Chargers today at the Singh Aquatic Center, but the water polo team sees their progression in the season.
With seven starting players graduating last year, head coach Allie Lamb was presented with the challenge of synthesizing a team from water polo veterans and complete novices.
“Since a lot of the girls are new, they’re trying to just be comfortable with the ball in their hands,” Lamb said. “Wilcox is always a fast team, so the girls just had to be ready to swim.”
The majority of the team is made up of non-seniors. As such, the girls have specifically been focusing on their communication and on ball control.
“This year, we had people starting who have never played water polo before,” Lamb said. “They’re testing the limits of what they can do in play.”
The Eagles held the lead for most of the first half, with the Chargers rushing ahead shortly into the second half. Team co-captain Anna Levine (12) earned two goals, Delaney Baxter (11) scored four, and Anushka Das (11) earned one.
Many team members see marked improvement from the season’s start. At their first game, the Eagles lost 17-0 to Mountain View.
“It was a really good game, even though we lost,” said the other co-captain, Lea Daran (12). “You can see a really big difference from the beginning of the season to now. We’re communicating better, swimming faster.”
The team’s overall record is 5-15. They head to league finals in two weeks.
On Halloween, the 14 players will honor seniors Lea Daran and Anna Levine during their game against Cupertino High at 4:30 and are planning to trick-or-treat after the game.